Ch.28S-Rank 5th Place (3)

Even a ricocheting bullet must have a single point of origin.

No matter how skilled Yoon Ha-eun might be, she couldn’t easily keep changing her sniper position.

With my senses heightened several times through my monster transformation, I traced the ricochet marks on the surrounding buildings to find the single point from which the bullets had come.

I made eye contact with Yoon Ha-eun, who appeared as tiny as an ant in the distance.

‘There she is.’

Tap-tap-tap.

True to her sniper nature, Yoon Ha-eun seemed to immediately notice that I had spotted her.

She instantly began moving to another building’s rooftop. I wanted to ignore her and flee, but…

‘Yoon Ha-eun was the owner of the “Thousand-Mile Eye,” one of the most renowned abilities in the <Monster Front> universe.’

She might witness the moment I returned to human form.

So I reluctantly decided to give my knockout flick to that perv… no, to that Weapon Master.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Grrrr?”

‘More ricochets?’

I started running toward the high-rise building where I had spotted Yoon Ha-eun.

At that moment.

Apparently giving up on targeting my head, bullets began ricocheting off surrounding buildings, now aiming for my heels.

“Grrrrrr…”

Of course, a body that could withstand radiation wouldn’t be wounded by mere bullets.

However, there was a risk of reduced speed.

Someone like Yoon Ha-eun would clearly try to gradually slow me down before delivering a “decisive blow.”

So I didn’t allow even a single bullet to hit me, even if it would only sting a little.

“Wow… you’re really good at dodging, aren’t you?”

Knee joints.

Thigh muscles.

Ankles.

Waist.

Yoon Ha-eun had long given up on killing me with a single shot and was now trying to restrict my movement.

Even as she returned to “basics” and tried to accumulate damage gradually, not a single shot was effective against the monster.

She licked her lips as she looked down at Kang Jang-hoon approaching her.

“What should I do…”

The “anti-materiel” sniper rifle in her hands seemed to have shrunk to nothing.

Like a chili pepper (the actual edible kind) shriveling in the cold.

After sighing, Yoon Ha-eun rose from her sniper position.

“Weapon conversion.”

She held the sniper rifle that had been against her shoulder straight out, then transformed it into a “heavy bow” with a taut bowstring.

“Ah… I wanted to fight with guns a bit longer. What a shame, really.”

The bow, much more difficult to handle than guns, never became a mainstream weapon after firearms were invented.

Yet there was a reason why “archer” remained a viable hero profession.

Just like now.

Just as one gets better with “practice,” the power of a bow shot by a professional hero far exceeded the upper limits of guns.

“Go!”

Twang.

A sonic boom erupted from the end of the powerful, heavy bowstring.

This was the sonic boom phenomenon that only occurs when physically exceeding the speed of sound.

Yoon Ha-eun, now wearing armor-like red body armor that matched her weapon, accurately hit the horned masked monster—who had only been dodging bullets—right in the center of its chest with an arrow imbued with red magical energy as red as her eyes.

“Grrrk?!”

“I hit it! I hit it!”

Ha, as expected of me.

People really do get better with practice.

From the moment the bowstring snapped, Yoon Ha-eun had already anticipated that her arrowhead would pierce through the horned masked monster below.

After all, when it came to archery, no one could beat her.

Like belonging to a “nation of archers,” she had practiced this field so much that it had become almost lukewarm.

That’s why she preferred fighting with guns.

When switching to a bow, battles usually ended too…

“Grrrrrr…”

“…Eh?”

Easily… or so they should have.

“GRAAAAAAAH!”

My arrow like a red meteor!

This was strange.

I clearly saw it hit him directly.

Yet there wasn’t even a small wound on his chest; he was just casually dusting off the area.

As Kang Jang-hoon got up from where he had briefly fallen and roared, Yoon Ha-eun was at a loss for words.

“Oh, ohhh… ungh?!”

She was uttering her own version of an exclamation with her eyes half-rolled upward.

“A body that remains intact even after my arrow—I’ve never encountered anything like this before!”

This is just a Level 1-minus?

Don’t make me laugh.

This is like thinking you’re getting a size S but being shocked when it turns out to be XL!

Clothes, of course.

Anyway, arrows had overwhelming penetrating power compared to bullets and couldn’t be ricocheted.

Following the straight-line attack pattern of the bow, Kang Jang-hoon could easily find Yoon Ha-eun who had changed her sniper position again.

“Wh-what should I do… I’ve been spotted?!”

At this point, it was all or nothing.

Might as well go all the way?!

With that thought, Yoon Ha-eun knew that no matter how much distance she put between them, she would obviously be caught at this rate.

Like a noble paladin on the verge of corruption!

With the mindset that she’d be caught anyway, she pulled the bowstring even harder than before.

“Don’t be ridiculous, even so…”

“Grrrr.”

“You’ve only been hit once!”

Twang!

It’s a mistake to think of an S-rank hero’s bowstring as being at the level of a mere archery athlete.

While those athletes build their skills with safe training in gymnasiums, heroes like her reached this level solely through “real combat.”

No matter how dangerous or harsh the situation, she never gave up on pulling the bowstring.

Shooting until all arrows reach the opponent—that’s what makes a true archer and hero.

In other words, that was her role.

But.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“He’s… deflecting all my arrows?”

Like slapping the cheek of a disobedient female.

Each time an arrow imbued with red magical energy flew straight at him, the horned masked monster below simply swatted it aside with his palm.

No matter how many arrows she shot, it was meaningless.

Instead, it only exposed her position more each time.

When she saw that he had already reached the floor right below the building where she stood.

Drip…

“He, he really came…!”

A puddle of “sweat” had formed where Yoon Ha-eun was standing.

At the same time, using the building’s exterior wall as a foothold, the horned masked monster, Kang Jang-hoon, finally leaped up to the rooftop where she was.

“To think he’d be unharmed after taking all my attacks…”

“Grrrr.”

“B-but I’m still fine! Weapon conversion.”

Yoon Ha-eun now faced the monster from a distance of about 10 meters.

However, as if it wasn’t over yet, she transformed her heavy bow once again, this time gripping two cute, upright daggers in both hands.

Accordingly, her body armor returned to its original form.

Huff. Huff. Huff.

For reference, these are breathing sounds.

She was breathing heavily like a pervert—no, an otaku—who had just witnessed a long-awaited situation.

Her heart-shaped pupils, which usually shone brightly, were now trembling as if they might become bloodshot at any moment.

“Just so you know, I’ve slaughtered over 1,000 monsters so far!”

“Grk…?”

“So to make me give birth to as many as I’ve killed, you’ll have to work really hard!”

Huff. Huff. Huff. Huff.

“But as an S-rank hero, I will never submit to a monster!”

“…”

“Even if I’m forcibly impregnated with a monster’s child! Even if my limbs are cut off and I’m dragged around like a pet! Even if I get a tattoo on my swollen belly counting how many babies I’ve given birth to!”

“……”

“Even if I get a nose piercing like a cow! Even if I’m violated again by the baby monsters I gave birth to, creating son-husbands!”

HUFF! HUFF! HUFF! HUFF! HUFF!

“I will never submit! You pathetic mons…?!”

SMACK.

…Thud.

Just like in those erotic doujinshi!

As Yoon Ha-eun was facing the reality that was about to come, her appearance (?) about to change into something vulgar…

Fortunately, her delusion was cut short by a powerful flick to the forehead from the monster possessed by someone from the land of courtesy and propriety—Kang Jang-hoon.

“Grrrk. Grk.”

‘An unmarried virgin shouldn’t say such things.’

***

The next day.

The news of the horned masked monster’s appearance in City C and the S-rank hunter’s failed subjugation was featured on every major news channel.

Of course, the person receiving the most attention was Yoon Ha-eun herself, who had failed to defeat me.

“Hero Yoon Ha-eun! How do you feel about failing to subjugate a monster after becoming an S-rank hero?”

“We heard you even wet yourself when you encountered it. Was the opponent that frightening?”

“There are rumors that this monster is the same one that harmed Hero Makoto in City E before. What’s your opinion on this…?”

“If you face it again, do you think you can win next time?”

Surrounded by reporters as soon as she woke up on a building rooftop in broad daylight.

Even I, watching through the TV, found the scene cringe-worthy.

But it seemed that even after wetting herself, a hero was still a hero.

“I will definitely subjugate that horned masked monster.”

Seeing Yoon Ha-eun boldly declaring her determination toward me, I inwardly smiled bitterly, thinking that this positive pervert hadn’t changed from 10 years ago.

Well…

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing…”

On the contrary, I was in no position to laugh right now.

“Jang-hoon, why didn’t you answer my calls?”

“I’m sorry…”

“Do you want to die?”

“No…”

Inside the now mostly repaired Okami family estate.

Currently, I was kneeling before Miss Hoshino, who was emanating murderous intent, having become a major criminal.

The reason was obviously that yesterday at dawn.

When I tried to sneak into the estate, I ran into the young lady who hadn’t even gone to sleep.

“So why were you late?”

“Ah… well, it was my first time going to school, so I was looking around everywhere, and before I knew it, it got late…”

“Hmm~. So you enjoyed school so much that you ignored my calls.”

I honestly couldn’t answer.

So I tried my best to make any excuse, but how should I put it?

The situation seemed to be getting worse rather than better.

Thanks to that, I couldn’t even properly look at Miss Hoshino, who was growling “grrrr” despite not being a monster, as I broke out in a cold sweat.

“Looks like there were rats at school too…”

Muttering.

After mumbling something briefly, she eventually…

“Is school that fun?”

“Y-yes?”

Lifting my chin with her slit pupils looking down at me.

“Then let’s go together.”

“…Eh?”

“To that school.”

I should clearly be happy about this.

But somehow, she had just given me an admission notice that I shouldn’t be happy about.